By Business & Finance 
Over 700 people attended the IPB Pride of Place Awards 2013 last night which was held at The Venue in Derry and saw 47 different groups, ranging from small rural communities to inner city housing estates honoured on the night.
Now in its 11th year, the IPB Pride of Place is a unique competition which recognises and celebrates the invaluable work being done in local communities across the length and breadth of Ireland. The aim of the competition is to recognise about people for coming together to shape, change and improve daily lives in their communities.
This year the prestigious ‘Council of the Year’ Award went to Donegal County Council for their on-going promotion and development of local communities in County Donegal.
Other winners on the night included the Garden of Hope project, which saw 150 students of Larkin Community College in Dublin’s inner city, volunteer over 1,000 hours to turn a derelict site into a tranquil haven for the residents of the Simon Community’s long-term housing facility on Sean MacDermott Street.
Phil Hogan TD, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness joined IPB Insurance, the Pride of Place Committee and Co-operation Ireland to present the winners with their awards.
During the evening, both Hogan and McGuiness paid tribute to all the participating groups who work tirelessly to create and promote pride in their cities, towns and villages.
Martin McGuinness, said: “I am pleased to recognise through the IPB Pride of Place Awards the many people across the island of Ireland who are moving forward, making progress and committed to creating and promoting pride in their cities, towns and villages.”
This is IPB Insurance’s second year as title partners of the Pride of Place Awards, having supported the competition in a smaller way in previous years. Speaking about IPB Insurance’s involvement chief executive, Ronan Foley, said: “IPB is committed to supporting this competition because we believe Pride of Place is an ideal platform to recognise the huge efforts being made in communities around the country and thank people for their efforts. The spirit of collaboration and camaraderie represented by the various initiatives is inspiring and is an excellent example of how communities can work together to make a real and practical difference to society.”
More details on the IPB Pride of Place Awards and the full list of winners for 2013 can be found at www.prideofplace.ie.
